Card deck



Oct. 6, 1925. 1,556,344

D. PH IMISTER CARD DECK Filed Aug. 15, 1925 FlE.1 FIELZ.

/N VE/V TOR 06M @Wm Patented Get. 6, 1925.

UNITED sures 1,556,344 PATENT OFFICE.

DUANE PHIMISTEB, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CARD DECK.

Application filed August 15, 1925.

I gives the games an educational value. The

deck is preferably made up of fifty-two cards, each of. which carries 'upon its face two letters, which are printed on backgrounds of two different colors, although the same result might be achieved by having the background all of one color with the two letters in different colored ink. The two letters on each card are what may be termed dial opposite letters, that is they are, in each case, the letters which lie at 180 degrees from each other when the alphabet is arranged in an annulus with the letters spaced apart at equal intervals. The deck, therefore. contains four complete alphabets, which are employed in word building, as later explained. The character of the cards, and the dial opposite feature, will be apparent by referenceto the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a face view of one of the cards. Fig. 2 shows a card with the same letters as Fig. 1, but with a different color arrange, ment, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the dial opposite arrangement of the letters which governs the two letters which are applied to each card.

By reference to the card illustrated, it will be noted that it bears the letters A and N, which come opposite each other on the dial of Fig. 3. Similarly, the letters B and 0 would appear on another card, B and 0 being dial opposite as is the case of A and N. This arrangement obtains throughout the deck. In the particular color arrangement selected for illustration, the letters A and N are in white, the letter A being upon a black background, while the letter N is upon a red background. In the card shown in Fig. 2, an equivalent arrangement is shown, the background of both letters being white with letter A in black ink and the letter H in red ink. A variety of other color schemes might be employed to secure the Serial No. 50,486.

two different color designations for the let tors at the opposite ends of the cards, the term color designation] as used in the claims. being intended to cover color indlcating means for the letters in whatever form applied.

A large number of different games may be played with the deck, but a brief explana tion of one simple game will be described to indicate the general principle of the game, which has been named hodag, and the method of play.

The game is designed for use by from two to eight players. After a table is made up,

the cards are cut to the right and dealt to the left in rotation until each player has five cards. Upon starting the deal, the dealer makes the agreed-upon ante. After observing their cards, players may come in or pass. A pass before the draw is a pass out.

Each player who stays is privileged to draw, as he may elect, from one to five cards to help his hand, discarding face down a number of cards equal to his draw, before he picks up the draw. Cards discarded are gathered into a pile from which cards may be supplied to complete the draw if the undealt portion of the deck runs short. This will usually happen only when seven or eight are playing.

The hands in hodag are words. There are three classes. A word of three letters is called, a Trip, a word, of four letters, a Quart, and a word offive letters, a Quint.

Bidding and raising before and after the draw may continue until all hands are called.

In each class, words may be constructed with all letters in the red, such words being Yes words; with all letters in the black, such being No words or with part of the letters in the black and part in the red. A word with one off-color letter is called an Off and one with two off-color letters is called 3.

Dub. There are nov Dub-trips. A Dubquart is regarded as in the red, when its first letter is red and as in the black when its first letter is black.

In general. Quints beat Quarts and Quarts beat Trips but, as explained in can cellation rules below, there are special cases in which Trips beat Quints. Yes words beat No words of same rank; No words beat Offs and Offs beat Dubs. I

If two words of equal rank and class are spread for the pot the word most advanced in the alphabetical sequence wins. Thus the Yes-trip VAN wins over the Yes-trip USE, because V is more advanced than U, and the No-quint VVHTTE wins over the No quint TVHEEL because I is farther advanced in the alphabetical sequence than E.

The called hand must spread first and other contestants in the pot in their order of play, beginning with the spreader. A Quint spread for the pot may be beaten by a subsequently spread Trip, if the Trip can cancel the Quint under the following rules.

A Yes-quint can be cancelled only only by a No-trip, a No Quint only by a Yes-trip. Off or Dub-quints can be cancelled by an Oil-trip of the opposite color.

In order to cancel, the Trip must show as its first letter the dial opposite and color opposite letter of the first letter of the Quint that is under cancellation. Thus, the Notrip NOW will cancel and win over the Yes-quint ALONE, because N in the black is the dial and color opposite of A in the red.

Off and Dub-quints can be cancelled by Off-trips of the opposite color.

Yes or No Quints the first letter of which is repeated in the Quint cannot be cancelled.

If two Trips are spread to cancel a Quint, the Trip most alphabetically advanced Wins.

If after a Quint is spread and cancelled by a Trip, another contestant for the pot still having the right to play in his order can spread a Quart he wins over the cancelled Qnint, and the cancelling Trip.

Vi hat I claim is:

1. As a new article of mainitacture, a card deck containing the letters of the alphabet in which each card bears two ditierent letters, one letter oi each card having one color designation and the other letter another color designation.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a card deck containing the letters of the al phabet in which each card bears two different letters, such letters in each case being dial opposite, and having different color designations.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub scribed my name this 12th day of August, 1925.

DUANE PHIMTSTEB. 

